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2 CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION A FEW WORDS SELECTIONS from the EXPLANATIONS made by CELEBRITIES WHO WERE NON-MUSLIMS AND WHOSE ADMIRATION FOR ISLAM EVENTUALLY LED THEM TO BELIEVING IN ALLÂHU TA ÂLÂ PEOPLE WHO CHOSE ISLAM Explanations CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE STATEMENTS of the PEOPLE WHO EMBRACED ISLAM IN SHORT HILYA-I-SA ÂDAT QUR ÂN AL-KERÎM and today s copies of the Torah and the BIBLE Today s Copies of the Torah and the Bible Some of the Errors in the Holy Bible The QUR ÂN AL-KERÎM Miracles of MUHAMMAD alaihis-salâm Virtues of MUHAMMAD alaihis-salâm RASÛLULLAH S sall-allâhu alaihi wa sallam BEAUTIFUL Moral Qualities and Habits ISLAM and OTHER RELIGIONS Islam Is Not A Religion of Savagery Muslims Are Not Ignorant Publisher s Note: Anyone who wishes to print this book in its original form or to translate it into any other language is permitted in advance to do so. We pray to Allâhu ta âlâ for giving reward to this beneficial deed of theirs, and we thank them very much. The permission is granted on the condition that the paper used in printing will be of good quality and that the design of the text and setting will be properly and neatly done without mistakes. TYPESET AND PRINTED IN TURKEY BY: İhlâs Gazetecilik A.Ş. 29 Ekim Cad. No. 23 Yenibosna-ISTANBUL/TURKEY Tel:

3 WHY DID THEY BECOME MUSLIMS INTRODUCTION The Islamic religion is the final religion and is therefore at the zenith of perfection. This fact is acknowledged even by (George) Bernard Shaw ( ) [1], the well-known Irish writer and critic, whose personal comments on Islam can be summarized as, Were we to choose a common religion for the entire world, it would definitely be the Islamic religion. This conclusion is quite natural. For the Islamic religion is the sole religion that has preserved its intact purity owing to the promised protection against the interpolations suffered by all the religious systems previous to it. Judaism, one of the greatest monotheistic cults, had foretold about the advent of a Messiah. Îsâ alaihis-salâm (Jesus) was hailed as the promised Messiah, yet the Injil (Bible), the heavenly book of the religion he spread, was lost. Later, various gospels were written in the name of Injil, and these new gospels, which were no more than interpolations themselves, were interpolated again and again. All these facts, along with various other portents, announced the coming of a final prophet, the real Messiah sall-allâhu alaihi wa sallam. As a matter of fact, the name of this Messiah is literally written in the Gospel of Barnabas. Then, the Islamic religion is the last, the most true, the most perfect religion wherein all the true religions converge and which, therefore, reflects the full approval of Allâhu ta âlâ. A friend of ours, [namely, Dr. Nûrî Refet Korur], who had spent his entire youth among Christians in Europe, said to us: I am a Muslim born from Muslim parents. I spent my life in Europe, where I had the chance and time to study all religions and to compare them with each other. If I had seen that another religion was superior to Islam, I would have given up Islam and accepted that religion. For there was no one to force me to remain a Muslim. Yet, all the research and the comparative studies I carried on, reinforced by the debates that I, in the meantime, [1] Shaw s clever plays, e.g. Pygmalion, are based on faults in moral attitudes and in society. 3

4 indulged in with Christians, revealed the fact that Islam is by far superior to all the world s present religions and that it is the only intact true religion, so clearly that I became attached to Islam with all my heart. Sad to say, today s western world still accommodates Christians who insist on the wrong and call Muslims heretics, idleminded, devil-worshippers, irreligious. These misconceptions are inculcated in the minds of Christian children by priests, whose real purpose is to distract their young and inquisitive brains. These interceptive activities are fed with the slanderous propaganda that the Islamic religion embodies aspects disagreeable with modern civilization. The fact, on the other hand, is that Islam is the only religion suitable for today s civilized world. Our book Islam and Christianity deals with and refutes these misconceptions. In addition to English, we translated that book into French and German and sent the translated versions to countries all over the world. Thereby we tried to countermand the falsifications spread by priests and thus to state the actual facts. It did not take us long to see how appropriate and useful our work had been. No sooner had we distributed the books to the world than they gave their fruits. We received a letter from India, in which wrote an Indian Christian: When I read your book Islam and Christianity, I realized that Islam is the true religion and I decided to become a Muslim. We have been receiving similar letters from young Africans. Anyone who has the opportunity to study the pure, clean, civilized and humane aspects of Islam will feel an irresistable attraction to this religion. The Islamic religion is spreading over the world without any such media as propagation and organization. On the other hand, the missionary organizations belonging to those countries whose primary objective is to spread Christianity are spending huge amounts of money and offering various types of social aid, and yet achieving very little success in comparison with their tremendous efforts. Despite all this wrongfull and inimical volley of vituperations carried on against Islam and all the stupendous efforts put forth for the spreading of Christianity, there has been an ever growing increase in the number of Muslims on the earth. Later ahead you will find more extensive information on this subject. Some of these Muslims remained Muslims because they had been born in Muslim families. However, besides these people there are also 4

5 people who accepted Islam although their parents had been in other religions and they therefore had been given their family education in other religions. Among these people are universally renowned diplomats, statesmen, scientists, scholars, men of letters, writers, and even men of religion. These people studied Islam well, admired its greatness, and became Muslims willingly. In addition to these people, many other universally known celebrities met the Islamic religion with deep respect and admiration although they did not officially become Muslims; they even believed in the fact that Islam is the true religion and did not hesitate to express this belief of theirs. Scientists, philosophers, and politicians, admired by the entire world, first of all believe in the fact that Allâhu ta âlâ exists and is One and that He is the Creator of all beings. In this chapter you will find the statements and observations belonging to some of these celebrities. Among the people who accepted Islam, there may be those who became Muslims of necessity, for the sake of some advantages, or for advertisement. For instance, a non-muslim woman may have accepted Islam without studying and learning Islam well for the purpose of marrying a certain man who happened to be a Muslim, or an Indian pariah may have done so in order to regain his lost civic rights. However, the fact that wellknown scholars, scientists and writers accept the Islamic religion only after a long observation bears a lofty import. Selections from the explanations given by these cultured people on why they abandoned their religions and embraced Islam have been compiled from various sources and books and listed in the following pages. As you read them you will hear from the very tongues of these respectable people why the Islamic religion is superior to other religions. Perhaps a person who was born a Muslim and has spent his life among Muslims is totally oblivious of these superiorities. Yet when a person belonging to another religion studies Islam, he will see the difference clearly and will admire Islam. In fact, reading these explanations will provide you with an opportunity to see and admire once again the high merits of our religion, and thus feel and offer gratitude to Allâhu ta âlâ for having been Muslims. A conclusion drawn from all these explanations, in other words, a summary of the reasons why Islam is superior to the other religions, has been added in an independent chapter. 5

6 We hold the belief that this work will give you fresh information about the Islamic religion and will confirm once again that Islam is a great and true religion. Mîlâdî Hijrî Shamsî Hijrî Qamarî A Warning: Missionaries are striving to advertise Christianity, Jews are working to spread the concocted words of Jewish rabbis, Hakîkat Kitâbevi (Bookstore), in Istanbul, is struggling to publicize Islam, and freemasons are trying to annihilate religions. A person with wisdom, knowledge and conscience will understand and admit the right one among these and will help in these efforts for salvation of all humanity. There is no better way nor more valuable thing to serve humanity than doing so. Who creates the earth and heaven, decorates trees, And makes flowers bloom, is Allah, alone! Allah is Omnipresent, and sees whatever thou doest; Hears whatever thou sayest; He exists, is one, and great. We love Allah, and obey whatever He commandeth; Five times do we pray daily, never do we disobey Him. A Believer is mild-tempered, pleaseth everyone; Never doth he cruelty to any, and liveth peacefully. 6

7 1 A FEW WORDS Allâhu ta âlâ created mankind. All people are the born slaves of Allâhu ta âlâ. Allâhu ta âlâ is the creator, the Rabb, not only of a certain nation or race or only of the world, but also of the entire humanity as well as of all the worlds of existence. In the view of Allâhu ta âlâ, all people are the same, and no one is different from another. In addition to a body, He has given a soul to each one of them. He has sent them Prophets alaihimus-salawâtu wattaslîmât to lead them to spiritual and physical perfection and to guide them on the right way. The greatest ones of these Prophets are Âdam, Nûh (Noah), Ibrâhîm (Abraham), Mûsâ (Moses), Îsâ (Jesus), and Muhammad Mustafâ alaihim-us-salâm. The tenets of belief that they taught are the same. The final and the most perfect system is Islam, taught by Muhammad alaihis-salâm. No Prophet will come after Muhammad alaihis-salâm. For the religion he brought is at the uppermost point of perfection and has no deficiency to be meliorated; and Allâhu ta âlâ has declared that mankind will never be able to change or interpolate this religion. The well-known German Writer Lessing ( ), in his book Nathan der Veise (Nathan the Wise), likens the three (heavenly) religions to three identical rings made of sapphire. Yet he feels uncertain as to whether one of them is genuine and the other three false? Yet the fact is that all three of them are genuine essentially. However, as a result of various personal interests, advantages, sordid and biased considerations, jealousies, superstitions, misinformations and misconstructions, men failed to understand this reality, inserted numerous wrong beliefs and ideas into the Musawî and Nasrânî religions, and thus changed, defiled these true religions, which were based on Tawhîd (unity, oneness of Allâhu ta âlâ). Only Islam remained in its original purity. Consequently, adherents of these three religions became hostile to one another. This hostile attitude they have assumed means to oppose to the Will of Allâhu ta âlâ. For, as we have already stated, Allâhu ta âlâ invites all people to the true religion. In the view of Allâhu ta âlâ, all people, regardless of race, are equal. All people are Ummat-i-da wat. And the true religion is Islam, which is the only continuation of the original 7

8 forms of Judaism and Christianity. The following passage, which we have paraphrased from Prof. Robinson, reflects the opinions formed in the minds of today s people who are stuck fast in materialism: I joined a tour of Israel organized for the teaching staff and students of the University of Orel Roberts. Orel Roberts, the founder of the university and one of the notables of the Catholic Church, was with us. During our scheduled visit to Ben Gurion, a former premier of Israel, Orel Roberts presented a copy of the Holy Bible to Mr. Gurion. The first portion of the Holy Bible was the Old Testament, that is, the Torah. Roberts requested Ben Gurion to read the passage he liked best of that holy book. Ben Gurion met his request with a smile. We sat under a tree in the small yard in front of his house. We were all quiet and ready to listen intently. Ben Gurion opened the Holy Bible, turned one or two pages, and read the following passage: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. [Gen: 1-27] I thought to myself, Good Gracious! Is this the statement he has found after all? I frowned because I had been expecting him to read a passage from one of the Pentateuchal parts with meanings of a higher level, such as a verse telling about creation or a passage from the Ten Commandments. I beckoned to the television cameraman shooting the event. This beckoning meant: Don t bother! These statements are not worth being televised the world over. Sometime afterwards, however, Ben Gurion explained with enthusiasm verging on ecstacy why he had picked up this statement, as follows: Quite a long time before we became Americans, Russians, Israelis, Egyptians, or Christians, Muslims, Magians, Jews, etc., that is, before the formation of differences separating today s people from one another, such as nationality, state, religion, belief, and the like, we were all a man and a woman created by Allâhu ta âlâ. This is the greatest fact which all religious systems are primarily trying to teach us. Why don t we realize this and why are all these hostilities among us? Let us join hands and supplicate Allâhu ta âlâ to help us realize this fact. We all hung our heads. Roberts, being a religious man, said, Amen, on behalf of us all. The statement that Ben Gurion picked up really was the wisest choice. Throughout my way back from Israel this statement 8

9 completely occupied my mind. We human beings are all the same. We are the born slaves of Allâhu ta âlâ. There is only one way leading to Him. This way is the way of belief guided by Abraham (Ibrâhîm), by Moses (Mûsâ), by Jesus (Îsâ), and finally by Muhammad alaihim-us-salâm. People who follow this way shall attain to salvation. By abandoning the way guided by Prophets, mankind has made the gravest error. It is for this reason that they have lost their way and their moral qualities and have even forgotten Allâhu ta âlâ. The earth s resuming its peace and salvation is dependent upon men s realizing that they have been on the wrong way and returning to the right way. How right Prof. Robinson is in his statements paraphrased above! Today most people have left the way prescribed by the religions, and material values have become their only concern. These poor people do not know that material values are a mere nothing. They are doomed to destruction and extinction. What is immortal in man is his soul. And the soul, in its turn, will not feed on material nutritives. The soul s primary diet is a correct belief in Allâhu ta âlâ, who created all from nothing; next comes worshipping Him, observing the duties required from His born slaves. Today, all scholars, scientists and state presidents believe in the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ. Yet in matters pertaining to belief and worship they mostly get stuck in wrong and misguided thoughts and ideas and thus deviate from the right way. A beautiful description of this case is given by Prof. White, a brain surgeon who has won many scientific awards and has attained international fame for the various operational methods he has found, and who is presently a professor at the University of Cleveland and at the same time the director of the Clinic of Brain Surgery founded in the same city. See what he says, (as paraphrased): The child that was brought in for a surgical operation was a six-year-old lovely girl. She was very graceful, lively, intelligent, and cheerful. Yet after examination we spotted a big tumor in her brain. We took her in for operation. A cyst attached to the tumor had made it grow very big. I began to operate on the sac containing liquid. But, alas, the global cystic tumor suddenly contracted and the wide veins on its surface tore. Blood was gushing out unto the operation bench. My friends and I were doing our utmost to stop the blood flowing as if from a water pump. It was of no avail. We saw in despair that we were losing the battle. The child was dying in our hands. We were under the 9

10 hopeless oppression of profound sadness. I was trying to stop the bleeding by putting pieces of cotton on the torn veins. The bleeding seemed to come to an end. Yet I could not lift my hand off. For I knew that if I did so the bleeding would begin again and in that case nothing could be done any more. My assistants began to inject blood into the child s body. My fingers were still on the pieces of cotton. How incapable and powerless I felt! Poor me, how did I dare to cut off a tumor formed in a small girl s brain? How on earth could I assume the responsibility of so tremendous a job? How could a pitiable human being even touch that stupendous work of art, which we call brain, which manages all the so many various functions, provides humankind with their personality and equips them with a variety of faculties such as intellect, memory, emotions, feelings, tastes, pains, thoughts and fancies, and which Allâhu ta âlâ, alone, could create? We term this tiny object brain. Yet, in actual fact, it was this very child that lay helpless before us. Half an hour later. Utter silence reigned in the operation room. We were all extremely tense with anxiety. Everybody, and I myself, knew that were I to lift my hand the flood of blood would begin again, which meant the death of the child. At that moment I began to supplicate to Allâhu ta âlâ and trusted myself to His help. I begged, O my Allah, do give my fingers the strength I need so that I can prevent the bleeding! Presently a strong feeling of relief suffused me. For I had now committed my trust to Allâhu ta âlâ. I had the belief that I could now lift my fingers off and there would be no bleeding any longer. I felt the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ with all my soul. Slowly, I lifted my fingers. The bleeding had stopped. It was now easy to perform the operation. The operation lasted for exactly four and a half hours. I did not leave the child for a whole week. I felt so happy as I observed that the child was gradually recovering. As of today, the child is ten years old, a perfectly healthful, cheerful and happy little dear. In 1974 I examined a child who had had a brain hemorrhage and I saw that there was a small tumor in the middle of its brain. Yet the tumor had begun to bleed and suppurate. The situation was dangerous and hopeless. We opened the skull, placed tubes on both sides of the brain, and began to wash the brain with antibiotics. This was quite a new method and I was the first to use it. Because the child was burning with fever, we placed it in a 10

11 respirator and covered it with cold blankets. In the meantime we continued to wash the brain. This hopeless situation lasted for weeks. I kept praying and supplicating Allâhu ta âlâ to help me. In my supplications, I was begging Allâhu ta âlâ not only to have mercy on the child and its parents, but also to give energy and strength to those people who had undertaken this heavy responsibility and who had been working with me continuously for weeks. Eventually, the divine help reached us. This event, which had seemed to be a total hopelessness, ended in success. The child recovered. My friends were happy and they were saying that the new method we had used had yielded a very good result. They thought that I did it and they prided on it. Yet I did not think so. I was of opinion that, no matter how hard we worked, no matter how new methods we found, no matter how new techniques we applied, success in operations of that sort depended only on the help of Allâhu ta âlâ. I have always felt this in my heart in the numerous operations I have performed up to now. However improved our technology may be, the result of a brain operation, like all other things, is within the power of Allâhu ta âlâ, and success is possible only with His help. During the brain operations I have performed for years, I have felt great excitement before the human brain. As I have dealt with the brain, and each time I have seen the brain, I have felt in my heart that it is impossible to solve the mystery of this tremendous work of art, that the power which created it is very great, and that it is necessary to believe in the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ. Even the most perfect computers made by people today can be only toys when compared to the tiniest brains. Now I believe that the brain is a case in which the human soul is preserved. As we perform an operation around this case we perform a religious rite. A brain operation, in my personal credo, is a religious rite, identical with performing an act of worship. The operator s technical knowledge and skill are not the only requirements. He should, at the same time, believe in the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ and beg Him for help and mercy for a successful operation. What happens to the soul kept in the case of the brain when a person dies? The soul is not in the body now, but definitely it is not dead. Where does it go, then? It is not for me as a doctor to speculate on where the soul goes or where it stays. For physical 11

12 areas of knowledge cannot answer this question. The only guide that will help us in this respect is a religious book. I believe that inasmuch as their brains and souls possess the faculty for reasoning, the humankind should leave aside the material values, attach themselves to the religion with all their hearts and believe in the teachings written in religious books. This comes to mean that even the world s famous and greatest surgeon sincerely expresses that he believes in the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ and that without His help nothing can be done. Now let us lend an ear to a scientist: You all know Edison, [1] the well-known American scientist. About this renowned inventor who, in addition to various discoveries, made the first electric bulb and thus illuminated the world, his closest colleague relates the following memory in a book published several years ago: One day, as I entered the room, I found Edison deeply plunged in thought, motionless, looking at some container which he was holding in his hand. An expression of utter astonishment tinted with deep signs of respect, admiration and adoration had suffused his face. He did not even notice me till I was quite near him. When he saw me he showed me the container in his hand. It was full of quicksilver. Look at that, he said. What a tremendous work of art! Do you believe that quicksilver is extraordinary? I replied, Quicksilver is really wonderful substance. Edison s voice quivered as he spoke. He murmured to me, As I look at quicksilver, I admire the greatness of its Creator. So many varying properties He has given to it! As I think of these I almost lose my mind. Then he turned to me again, and said, People worldover admire me. They presume that all these various inventions and discoveries I have managed are wonders and great accomplishments. They want to look on me as a superhuman. What a great error it is! I am a person who is not even worth a penny. My discoveries consist in uncovering only an infinitesimal part of the great wonders that actually exist in the universe but which people have not noticed so far. A person who says, I made this, is the most abject liar, the most driveling idiot. Man is an incapable creature who can do nothing by himself. Man is a creature who can talk a little and who can think a little. If he [1] Edison (Thomas Alva) died in 1350 [C.E. 1931]. 12

13 thinks well, he will, let alone being proud, see how void he is. So, as I think of these facts, I realise what a powerless, incompetent and weak creature I am. Me, an inventor? [He raised his hand and pointed to the sky.] The real inventor, the real genius, the real creator is He, Allah! As is seen, scientists believe in the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ and hold fast to His religion with both hands. Materialists mostly cannot find solutions to their problems and give up hope. This is because their souls are empty. The human soul, like the body, needs food. And this, in its turn, is possible only when one has îmân, and the only way leading to Allâhu ta âlâ is the religion. Even those who deny Allâhu ta âlâ will some day feel this need. The famous Russian writer (Alexander) Solzhenitsyn ( ), when he settled his home in the U.S., thought he would now be free from great troubles, mental depressions, and from the state of being only a mechanical tool. One day he summoned a group of American youth around himself in a university and said to them, When I came here, I thought I would be very happy. Unfortunately, here, too, I feel myself in a vacuum. For we have become the slaves of material values. Yes, there is freedom here, and one can do whatever one wishes. But material values are the only important things. The souls are empty. However, what makes a human being a real human is its matured, refined soul. My piece of advice to you is this: Try to improve and beautify your soul! In that case only will those monstrosities that have infested your country and which have been worrying you begin to disappear. Pay the religion its due importance! The human soul is fed on religion. People adherent to their religion will be your greatest helpers in whatever you do. For the fear of Allah will keep them on the right way. On the other hand, your police forces, no matter how powerful, cannot establish a twenty-four-hour control over everybody. What deters people from iniquities is not the concept of police, but the fear that they feel in the permanent presence of Allah. As we have stated above, religion is the only source of nutriment for the human soul. Of all the existent religions, Islam is the truest, the newest, and the most comprehensive so that it provides its adherents with an everduring adaptability to the world s changing conditions. In this booklet you will read selections from the autobiographical documents in which some cultured people, who, while formerly belonging to some other 13

14 religion during their childhood, studied various religions and their books and finally embraced Islam on their own volition and without even any marginal outside influence, give their personal accounts on why they decided to change their religion and become a Muslim. In addition to these highly cultured people, there are quite a number of celebrities who believe in the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ and who admire Islam for its greatness. There is mention of these people in the next chapter. In the so-called chapter, we shall paraphrase paragraphs from the reflections on the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ and the superiority of Islam selected from the statements of Emperor Napoléon (Bonaparte, ), (Thomas) Carlyle ( ), Prof. (Ernest) Renan ( ), and the Indian hero (Mahatma) Ghandi ( ), and the statements made by (Alphonso Marie de) Lamartine ( ) about our darling Prophet Muhammad alaihis-salâm. As all these indicate, the religion is the most vital necessity for mankind. Those unfortunate people who do not believe in their own religion, and who have not had the chance to study Islam, either, will remain hollow-souled and will get hold of false credos fabricated by liars. For a person definitely needs to believe in the existence of a being superior to him and to attach himself to that being. Even those people living in the most improved and developed countries have seeked ways to satisfy this need and finally attached themselves to aberrant ideas and fabricated beliefs. On November 17, 1978, nine hundred votaries of a heretical sect were taken to Guyana in South America by a miscreant priest named Jim Jones, the founder of the sect, which he called People s Religion, and thence to a camp which this eccentric priest, again, called Jonestown, [1] where he induced them to poison themselves (by drinking poison together). In Italy, a pair of parents who believed another similar priest killed their own child with their own hands because the heretic priest had told them to kill their child and the child would come back to life and would become even healthier than before upon his sending his prayers; it goes without saying how ruined the parents felt when they saw that the child would never return to this life. If these people, who had left their religion, had studied the Islamic religion like those people who embraced Islam, and whom you [1] This event is widely known as the Jonestown Massacre. 14

15 will get to know more closely further ahead, they would have found in it what they had been looking for, and the Islamic religion, whose lexical meaning also is peace and tranquility, salvation, trusting oneself to Allah, would have given them the spiritual serenity they had been yearning for. Very sad to say, we Muslims cannot propagate our brilliant religion to the world as efficiently as we wish to do. One of the deciding factors contributing to this failure is our own slackness in paying our religion due attachment and our contagious remission in carrying out its commandments. The Islamic religion enjoins, first of all, physical and spiritual cleanliness. Spiritual cleanliness is obtainable by believing first in the existence of Allâhu ta âlâ and then in the totality of His commandments and prohibitions which He sent to humankind through Muhammad alaihis-salâm, His final Messenger. That the soul has been likewise cleansed is identifiable from the presence of certain characteristic signs, such as never lying, never deceiving anybody, habitual rectitude, not holding heretical dogmas, readiness to help others without discriminating among them, and full submission to the commandments of Allâhu ta âlâ. This is the sole behavior expected from a Muslim. Then, if a person means to propagate the Islamic religion, first of all he himself has to be a model Muslim. If we exhibit this model and modest behavior, people belonging to other religions will observe us with admiration, which in turn automatically prompt them to study the Islamic religion. Our newly converted Muslim brothers explained in their answers to the question, Why did you become a Muslim? that they decided to become a Muslim upon seeing true Muslims and their life-styles. These Muslims request us to try to spread and publicise the Islamic religion and to set an example, a model Muslim for others by holding fast with both hands to the commandments of our religion. For all our faults and our insufficient capacity of propaganda, the Islamic religion is growing piecemeal and spreading over the world. In 1954 the population of the world was 2.4 billion. By 1978 it reached 3.8 billion. Between 1954 and 1978 the number of Christians reached 150 million, while that of Muslims became 220 million. According to the statistics of the year 1978 written in the World Almanac, published by an international statistics center, there are 1.7 billion buddhists and magians, 950 million Christians (Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians), 10 million Jews, 538 million Muslims on the earth. On the other hand, Time, (an 15

16 American magazine), allotted its April 1979 issue to Islam. It was recorded in this issue that the real number of Muslims was 750 million and the existing statistics were incorrect. Christian statisticians make every endeavour to represent a lower number of Muslims on the earth. If we behave in a manner befitting a true Muslim, the number of Muslims will increase even more rapidly, which in its turn means that, as will be stated in the following explanations made by people who converted to Islam from other religions, wrong beliefs will gradually disappear from the earth and the human race will attain their long-awaited peace and happiness. 16

17 2 SELECTIONS FROM THE EXPLANATIONS MADE BY CELEBRITIES WHO WERE FORMERLY NON-MUSLIMS AND WHOSE ADMIRATION FOR ISLAM EVENTUALLY LED THEM TO BELIEVING IN ALLÂHU TA ÂLÂ The following chapter contains a few paraphrased selections from the statements made by some of the many non-muslim celebrities who believed in Allâhu ta âlâ and admired Islam; these statements reflect their views of Islam. So many are the people who share the same opinions that we have had to pick out only the famous ones. Among our selections are great commanders, statesmen and scientists whom you all know very well. Now let us read with attention to what they said: NAPOLEON (BONAPARTE): Napoléon I ( [1237 A.H.]), who went into history as a military genius and statesman, when he entered Egypt in 1212 [C.E. 1798], admired Islam s greatness and genuineness, and even considered whether he should become a Muslim. The following excerpt was paraphrased from Cherfils s book (Bonapart et Islâm): Napoléon said: The existence and unity of Allâhu ta âlâ, which Mûsâ alaihissalâm, had announced to his own people and Îsâ alaihis-salâm to his own ummat, was announced by Muhammad alaihis-salâm to the entire world. Arabia had become totally a country of idolaters. Six centuries after Îsâ alaihis-salâm, Muhammad alaihis-salâm initiated the Arabs into an awareness of Allâhu ta âlâ, whose existence prophets previous to him, such as Ibrâhîm (Abraham), Ismâ îl, Mûsâ (Moses) and Îsâ (Jesus) alaihim-us- 17

18 salâm, had announced. Peace in the east had been disturbed by the Arians, [i.e. Christians who followed Arius], who had somehow developed a degree of friendship with the Arabs, and by heretics, who had defiled the true religion of Îsâ alaihis-salâm and were striving to spread in the name of religion a totally unintelligible credo which is based on trinity, i.e. God, Son of God, and the Holy Ghost. Muhammad alaihis-salâm guided the Arabs to the right way, taught them that Allâhu ta âlâ is one, that He does not have a father or a son, and that worshipping several gods is an absurd custom which is the continuation of idolatry. At another place in his book he quotes Napoléon as having said, I hope that in the near future I will have the chance to gather together the wise and cultured people of the world and establish a government that I will operate [in accordance with the principles written in Qur ân al-kerîm.] Prof. (THOMAS) CARLYLE: Thomas Carlyle of Scotland (1210 [C.E. 1795]-1298 [C.E. 1881]), one of the greatest men of knowledge known worldover, entered the university when he was only fourteen years old, studied jurisprudence, literature and history, learned German and oriental languages, exchanged letters with, and even visited, the well-known German writer (Johann Wolf-gang von) Goethe ( ), was awarded by the King of Prussia with the medal of honour called powr le mérite, and was elected president by the University of Edinburgh. Among Carlyle s works are Sartur Resartus, The French Revolution, On Heroes, Hero Worship And the Heroic in History, Past and Present, Latter-Day Pamphlets, The Life of Friedrich Schiller, and Critical and Miscellaneous Essays. The following passage was selected from one of his works: The Arabs, Muhammad alaihis-salâm, and his age: Before the advent of Muhammad alaihis-salâm, (the Arabs were in such a state that) if a big piece of fire spurted out at the place where the Arabs lived, it would have disappeared on the dry sand without leaving any traces behind itself. But after the advent of Muhammad alaihis-salâm that desert of dry sand turned into, as it were, a barrel of gunpowder. From Delhi to Granada, everywhere became rapidly rising flames. This great person was, so to speak, lightning, and all the people around him became explosives catching fire from him. 18

19 From his conference: As you read the Qur ân al-kerîm, you will presently realize that it is not an ordinary tome of literature. The Qur ân al-kerîm is a work of art that springs from a heart and instantly penetrates all the other hearts. All the other works of art are quite dull when compared with this tremendous masterpiece. The most striking characteristic of the Qur ân al-kerîm is that it is a truthful and excellent guide. To me, this is the greatest merit of Qur ân alkerîm. And it is this merit that begets other merits. From his memoirs of a trip: In Germany I told my friend Goethe about the facts I had gathered concerning Islam and added my personal reflections on the subject. After listening to me with attention, he said, If that is Islam, we are all Muslims. MAHATMA GANDHI (Mohandas Karam-chand): Gandhi (1285 [C.E. 1869]-1367 [C.E. 1948]) descends from a West Indian Christian family. His father was the chief ecclesiastic of the city of Porbtandar, and he was very rich. Gandhi was born in the city of Porbtandar. He went to Britain for his high school education. After completing his education he went back to India. In 1893 he was sent to South Africa by an Indian firm. Upon seeing the heavy conditions under which the Indians working there were and the utterly inhumane treatment they were being subjected to, he decided to put up a struggle for the betterment of their political rights. He dedicated himself to the Indian people. As he was conducting a vigorous campaign against the South African government for the protection of the Indians rights, he was arrested and imprisoned. Yet he was too undaunted to give up struggle. He stayed in Africa till Then, quitting his perfectly lucrative job there, he returned to India to carry on his struggle. He waged a struggle in cooperation with the Indian Muslims Unity, which Muslims had established in 1906 for the liberation of India. All his personal property and his father s property he spent for the promotion of this cause. When he heard that the British were going to launch a second operation of violence and cruelty similar to the one they had perpetrated in the state of Punjab in 1274 [A.D. 1858], he cooperated with the Muslims, induced his friends to withdraw from the civil service, and waged a silent protest and a passive resistance. By wrapping a white piece of cloth around his naked 19

20 body and contenting himself with the milk of a goat which he continuously kept with him, he carried over his passive resistance. The first reaction on the part of the British was to laugh at him. It did not take them long, however, to see with astonishment and dismay that this man, who believed his own ideals with all his heart and who was ready to sacrifice all his existence with alacrity for the sake of his country, was with the entire India in tow and resounding with his speechless struggle. Imprisoning him proved to no avail. Gandhi s efforts resulted in India s attaining its independence. The Hindus gave him the name Mahatma, which lexically means blessed. Gandhi studied the Islamic religion and Qur ân al-kerîm with meticulous attention and finally found himself a sincere admirer of Islam. The following is his observation concerning this subject: Muslims have never indulged themselves in bigotry even in times of greatest grandeur and victory. Islam enjoins an admiration for the Creator of the World and His works. As the West was in a dreadful darkness, the dazzling star of Islam shining in the East brought light, peace and relief to the suffering world. The Islamic religion is not a mendacious religion. When the Hindus study this religion with due respect, they, too, will feel the same sympathy as I do for Islam. I have read the books telling about the life-style of the Prophet of Islam and of those who were close to him. These books generated profound interest in me, so much so that when I finished reading them I regretted there being no more of them. I have arrived at the conclusion that Islam s spreading rapidly was not by the sword. On the contrary, it was primarily owing to its simplicity, logicality, its Prophet s great modesty, his trueness to his promises and his unlimited faithfulness towards every Muslim that many people willingly accepted Islam. Islam has abrogated monastic life. In Islam there is no one to intervene between Allâhu ta âlâ and His born slave. Islam is a religion that commands social justice from the outset. There is not an institution between the Creator and the created. Anyone who reads Qur ân al-kerîm, [i.e. its explanations and books written by Islamic scholars], will learn the commandments of Allâhu ta âlâ and will obey Him. There is no obstruction between Allâhu ta âlâ and him in this respect. Whereas many ineluctable changes were made in Christianity on account of its shortcomings, Islam has not undergone any alterations, and it preserves its pristine purity. 20

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